Deus Ex Machina (God from the Machine)
by Grendel226
Summary: What really happened to the memories of Paradigm City? The action of this story takes place right after Act 13: R*D, and explores the dark truths of what really happened forty long years ago. Authors notes in chapter 4 updated to address reviewer commen
1. The Questing Beast

deusch1 -=Deus Ex Machina (God from the Machine)=-   
A Big O fanfic by Grendel226 a.k.a. Arren Dracone   
Chapter 1: The Questing Beast 

References, works cited, and authors comments will be posted at the end of the story. The action takes place directly after Act 13: R*D. 

Paradigm City. Forty years ago everyone was robbed of their memories. Gone in a flash, society lost its collective and individual identity. The rest of the known world was laid to waste and somehow, this city is the only known structure still standing. As a negotiator it was my job to keep the peace in the city, not hunt for fragments of lost memories. But the terrifying reality of what happened forty long years ago quickly became intertwined with my own actions. And whether I was willing or not I was about to become a key player in an end game. 

----- 

Roger sat up in a cold sweat, his eyes rolling wildly as they attempted to focus on the surroundings of his room. Children surrounded by flames staring wide-eyed at some unseen distraction. Random bar codes that meant nothing to him. And everywhere the sea of flames, engulfing the children, the city, and himself. It always ended the same way. Shaking the nightmare from his mind he glanced at the clock. It was still the wee hours of the morning and well before dawn but he knew sleep was lost to him this night. His feet moved of their own accord as he descended the stairs. Behind him, Dorothy opened the door to her room and peeked out at his black clad form disappearing down the steps. Moving like prey being stalked so as not to be seen or heard, she followed him to where the Megadeus stood. Roger stared up at the lifeless glass eyes as if looking for answers that would never come. "Roger?" She cautiously stepped out of the shadows making her presence known. "Dorothy. What are you doing up?" "You left your room rather noisily. I thought perhaps you required assistance." Roger smirked wryly, "Were you concerned about me?" Dorothy turned her head to stare at Big O, her voice monotone as usual: "Concern is an emotion Roger Smith. You have forgotten I am incapable of experiencing these things." Roger sighed and turned back to the Megadeus. "You know, Miss Waynewright, that might sometimes be a blessing and not a curse." "You are referring to the Red Destiny," she countered smoothly. "Roger, did you feel fear when your life could have ended so abruptly?" Roger didn't bother trying to guard his ego or pride. And at any rate, there was no hiding from Dorothy. She would detect imperfections in his voice and point out his bold-faced lie. "Yes. Men are afraid many times, not just when their life was in danger. Maybe I wasn't afraid of dying. Maybe I was afraid of knowing..." He trailed off staring blankly into the dead eyes of the Megadeus. "Knowing what?" Dorothy questioned as Roger walked past her. "I'll explain sometime perhaps. Goodnight Dorothy." Roger ascended the stairs and slunk into his library leaving the android regarding the hulking shadow of the Megadeus. And Roger once again fingered the red cover of the book, examining the slanted gold writing on the cover: "Metropolis." 

He had read the book time and time again searching for answers. Gordon Rosewater had said that the book contained the answers that he only needed to find for himself. But he had turned the pages, cover to cover a dozen times over and had yet to find what he sought. Flipping through the yellow legal pad of notes he had taken while reading Metropolis he hoped for some clue to suddenly materialize before him making everything clear, yet as usual the pages only reflected his own half-scrawled confusion. Staring out the window, he absently scratched at the page with the near empty pen, writing words that came to his brain like clockwork: "Cast in the name of God: Ye Not Guilty." 

------ 

"I need to make connections but I'm not finding them. Somehow this all fits together." Big Ear regarded Roger with his usual, casual yet wise demeanor and sipped at his martini. "Do you realize," Big Ear began, "That all that you know is involved?" Roger's eyes widened. "How? Don't answer me in riddles, tell me how!" Big Ear toyed casually with the Spanish olive from his martini. "Are you a religious man, Mr. Smith?" "What?" "Do you believe in a higher power. Someone responsible for our creation and destruction? Someone in control of events in which we are just pawns?" Roger stared at him blankly. He had heard that Rosewater referred to the birth of the Son of God when a giant spruce had overtaken the east dome on Heaven's Day. However, these ideas seemed as preposterous and alien to him as emotions must seem to Dorothy. "What does that mean?" Roger demanded feeling frustration bubbling. "Let me show you something. A memory." Fumbling for a moment the man pressed his chubby hand into his pocket, drawing out a worn piece of paper. A photograph of a happy couple who had just married. "What importance are these people?" Roger asked growing more impatient by the second. "Don't jump to conclusions. Don't look at the people. Look where they are." Roger squinted to stare at the hazy background of the picture: a large stone building that seemed to tower to the sky with a large stained glass window gleaming over a set of double doors. "Do you see structures like this in the city now?" Big Ear asked popping the olive into his mouth. "No." "These were once houses of worship where people would ask God for forgiveness. Sometimes they would ask him to alter the course of what they found to be a miserable life, or would thank him for what they found to be acceptable." "I still don't see what this has to do with Paradigm," Roger grumbled. "Look for the remains of people's faith," Big Ear said casually rising. "Perhaps once you find it you'll have a revelation." Roger watched the man disappear out the door and slammed his fist on the table in frustration. Always riddles. Nothing more than riddles.   
  



	2. Finding the Faith

deusch2 -=Deus Ex Machina (God from the Machine)=-   
A Big O fanfic by Grendel226 a.k.a. Arren Dracone   
Chapter 2: Finding the Faith 

References, works cited, and authors comments will be posted at the end of the story. The action takes place directly after Act 13: R*D. 

It was the same dream again. Sweat dripped off Roger's brow as he attempted to collect himself. The meaning of the random sea of images alluded him once more. Dressing quietly to avoid disturbing Dorothy and eliciting a companion he stole down the stairs and out the front door. The night air struck him full in the face, chilling him and sending the last shards of the nightmare flying. His footfalls were the only sound in the silent city, as he roamed aimlessly, not sure what he searched for. Turning down an ill-used street he took another stride forward and heard a distinctive crunch under his foot. Broken glass was not uncommon but something drew his gaze downwards. Pulling a flashlight from his pocket he shined it at the debris on the ground and a dancing pattern of colors from broken stained glass reflected on him. He swept the flashlight across the area in front of him and saw heaps of rubble and gray stones. His mind snapped back to the picture Big Ear had shown him and he began picking his way carefully across bits of stone, wood, and metal. The door of the structure had long since been demolished. In fact there was little of the structure left except for a mound that had caught his attention. Examining it he found a set of stairs that descended into the earth which promptly disappeared into the darkness. Turning his flashlight back on he began working his way down the steps, his hand braced against the wall to prevent slipping on the slime covered steps. He finally emerged into a room with ceilings just low enough he had to duck to avoid a concussion. Little was left unscathed except for a small wooden dais in the middle of the room with a wooden box placed carefully on it. Stepping carefully over piles of debris he cautiously opened the box and found himself staring at yet another book. The cover was worn black leather, and ornate gold lettering spelled out "King James Bible." He stared at it a moment and was suddenly gripped by terror he had only known twice in his life: when he had faced the Red Destiny, and when he had descended into the catacombs through which his Megadeus traveled. Feeling as if the walls themselves watched him he pushed the book under his coat and hurriedly ascended the stairs, leaving the smell of mold and the curious room behind him. 

------- 

Returning home, Roger found Dorothy sitting on the desk in his study. With a spry movement she leapt off and walked towards him. "You appear disheveled," she stated after regarding him a moment. "Did you find what you were looking for?" "Perhaps," Roger muttered vaguely. Dorothy carefully judged his tone and decided it was best to let him contemplate in silence. As she shut the door behind herself, Roger sat at his desk and gently opened the front cover of the worn book. Examining the table of contents he ran down the list of names slowly. Most seemed to be the names of people, some were single words mostly likely bearing significance to the chapter, and others were archaic words that held no meaning for him. He froze as his eyes fell on the last chapter's title. Big Ear's riddle had lead him full circle. He had sought the remains of people's faith and found it. And now he stared at one word printed at the bottom of the page: "Revelation". 

-------- 

Roger's head throbbed as he read the book yet again. It was a vivid and sometimes obscure description of the end of the world. He examined the bits about the coming of evil, and dissected the bits about the return of good desperately hoping it would shed some light into his confusion. However, the riddles that the book spoke in were even more obscure than the riddles that Big Ear rattled off with careless ease.   



	3. The Usual Strangers, and Dangerous Angel...

deusch3 -=Deus Ex Machina (God from the Machine)=-   
A Big O fanfic by Grendel226 a.k.a. Arren Dracone   
Chapter 3: The Usual Strangers, And Dangerous Angels 

References, works cited, and authors comments will be posted at the end of the story. The action takes place directly after Act 13: R*D. 

Dorothy entered to find Roger asleep with his head on his desk. Tiptoeing quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping man she looked at the desk. The copy of Metropolis was spread open and a black book she had not presently seen lay next to it. Cluttering the normally pristine desks were countless balls of yellow paper, which Roger had torn out of his notepad in frustration. Just then he sat up eyes wide and arms raised as if preparing to shield himself from blows of an unseen enemy. "Dorothy," he gulped staring at her blankly. "Your dreams trouble you," she stated flatly, seating herself on the desk. "Yes. They do. Why am I having these memories? And what exactly am I supposed to find in this book?" He shut the Bible in sheer irritation and rested his head in his hands. "Big Ear said that everything in my life plays into what happened. But how could it? Paradigm lost its memories long before I was born." Dorothy was silent, and she stared blankly into space. Roger hoped she was preparing to help him unravel this mystery. "The logical thing is to begin by examining what vectors act on your life." "What?" "Well, since everything is linked to you somehow, examine what surrounds you. The immediate objects in your life, are myself, Norman, Big O, your clients, and your opposition." Roger rubbed at non-existent stubble on his chin. "The best place to begin is logically at the beginning," Dorothy stated calmly before vaulting from her seat on the desk and leaving the room as quietly as she had entered. Roger stared blankly at his note pad then began writing. 

Allies came first: that was Dastun, Norman, and Dorothy. Opposition came next: Alex Rosewater was the head of the Paradigm Corporation. It was the heartbeat and gears of the city, yet always shady. He also hastily scrawled the name 'Angel' under that category, unsure what to make of her. Then of course there was Red Destiny. Next, he hastily began scrawling the names of his recent clients. Dorothy had given him direction but it hadn't revealed the clues he was hoping for. With a sigh he stood and went to shower and eat breakfast. Perhaps a fresh start would clear his head. 

------- 

Roger was once again seated at his desk. He had showered and shaved, and had quelled the angry growls of his stomach with a larger than usual breakfast. He stared in frustration at the yellow paper, which seemed to mock him. Dorothy once again let herself into his study and stared closely at the list of names. "Roger, has it occurred to you to include the actual enemies with which you did physical battle?" "Hmm?" Suddenly, he remembered he hadn't written down his Megadeus encounters. Quickly he scratched them next to the names of the clients, then gathered up the worn Bible and his notepad. "I'm going out Dorothy. I'll see you at dinner tonight." "Are you going to look for answers?" she called after him, but she received no response. 

-------- 

He parked a few blocks from the Speakeasy, and secured the Griffon clutching the book and notepad under his arm. He had just rounded the last corner, when the glaring red and blue circles of lights on police cars stabbed his eyes. He could see crime scene tape roping off the Speakeasy, and what appeared to be the whole of Paradigm's police force crawling over the perimeter. "Fine day for a bust," he thought to himself moments before a hand grabbed his arm and he was pulled into an alley. "Hey!" His cry of protest went unnoticed over the den of the police investigation. His eyes adjusting to the darkness he found himself staring at a figure in a red hooded cape. His heart stopped as he remembered the ghostly voice chanting his name again and again as bullets whizzed past him. He was almost relieved when the hood fell back and he found himself staring at Angel. "You're too late to come looking here," she said curtly. "What?" Roger was still dazed from his unexpected exit from the street. "The man referred to as Big Ear was murdered here this morning." "What? Why?" Roger suddenly felt an impending sense of loss; his only easy source of information suddenly snuffed out. "He knew too much about certain things," Angel replied glibly, toying with her hair. "And you're looking for answers too, aren't you Roger Smith?" He suddenly felt a menace creeping over him and he chose his words carefully: "Perhaps. Isn't everybody looking for answers?" "Watch it." Her words were accented by a painful poke to the chest. "Remember who runs this city. Nobody in their right mind would go against Alex Rosewater." "But what did Big Ear do to Rosewater?" Angel shrugged. "Some secrets are better left kept. He was in a dangerous trade." "If any man have an ear, let him hear." "What?" Roger was surprised as Angel was. He had quoted the mysterious book Revelation, which he had been reading. Angel gave him a look like daggers of ice. "Be careful. If you play with fire you get burnt." With that she put her hood on and swept past him onto the street, and Roger casually wondered how long she had held the red balloon that now bounced on a string in her fingertips.   



	4. End Game

deusch4 -=Deus Ex Machina (God from the Machine)=-   
A Big O fanfic by Grendel226 a.k.a. Arren Dracone   
Chapter 4: End Game 

References, works cited, and authors comments will be posted at the end of the story. The action takes place directly after Act 13: R*D. 

Roger was staring at the open books again. With Big Ear gone, this was a mystery he would have to solve on his own. Dorothy sat on the desk, glancing once in awhile at his notes. He paced the room under the pale moonlight that filtered in through the window, wracking his brains for some glimmer of cognition. "Did Angel say anything useful?" Roger had told Dorothy about the encounter, hoping that her mechanical thought processes would prove more lucrative than his human ones. "She said that no man would challenge Alex Rosewater." The words rolled of his tongue and then he raced to his chair. "No man would challenge Alex Rosewater." "You're repeating yourself Roger. Perhaps you're tired." He ignored Dorothy's remark and stared at his notes as he began flipping urgently through the book of Revelation. "And they worshipped the dragon, which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" "You have stopped making sense Roger." Impatiently he thrust the book towards Dorothy. "Read Chapter 13 there. It describes the end of the world and the reign of evil before good triumphs. That's what I quoted." Dorothy stared at the page then silently said, "No one would defy or go against Mr. Rosewater. But then what is the seven-headed creature?" 

Now Roger was stumped again. If everything went back to Rosewater then there should be seven henchmen. Acting on a hunch he looked at his notepad. "That's no good. There were nine other Megadeii." Dorothy peered over his shoulder, her coal eyes narrowing momentarily. "No. You've made an error in your assumptions." Roger turned and looked at her hoping she was had come to her own revelation but she only calmly stated the facts as if they should have been apparent to him. "The Electric God was a living creature, not a Megadeus. And Perot was a genetic creation." Roger crossed the two off the list and stared at the number remaining: seven. "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." Seven. He had tied the enemy Megadeii to Rosewater who had secretly called off police intervention so that he could watch the havoc wreaked by the hulking creations. It had to go back to Red Destiny somehow though. Schwartzwald had piloted a red Megadeus. And three others had come lumbering up through the rolling sea. That made four. His mind working like a steel trap, he flipped frantically through the pages to find the passage he looked for. "And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword." A red horseman sent to take peace from the earth. Images of the red Megadeus flashed through his mind, and the three that had accompanied it that day. Four "horsemen"...four entities, each riding a Megadeus to serve as its steed on the path of destruction. 

More images flashed through Roger's mind. He remembered the day that Angel had claimed to be a fallen one of her namesake. Perhaps that was what she really was. A fallen angel who was now in the service of the beast. He remembered the parallel scars on her shoulders where the wings had been torn from her flesh as a sign of her shame. She now licked the beast's feet and did his bidding, assuming any number of faces to gain trust, just in the way a false prophet would. At last his thoughts came racing back to his nightmares. "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men." Flames engulfing everything. Flames raining down on the Earth as darkness descended, everything being wiped out by the massive waves of nothingness that consumed the sphere. The cloudless sky outside now seemed to menace Roger: a sign of the darkness that hung over the remains of civilization. His mind racing with the hellish landscapes of his nightmare he remembered the terrified faces of the children and the bar codes bearing no meaning. His eyes finally settled on the passage that he searched for, "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads." The last innocents of the city, receiving a bar code by which the Paradigm Corporation catalogued all residents. The four who had been murdered by the Red Destiny had claimed to be born outside Paradigm, but perhaps that was their way of saying they had refused the mark. And the penalty for any refusing the mark was certain death. 

Roger slumped heavily in his chair for the first time since he could remember feeling on the verge of tears. Tears of panic, and frustration, and pain. The city of Paradigm had not lost its memories. They had been taken in the final apocalypse predicted by a book that a few faithful abided by. The happy and sad memories of countless people had been erased in preparation for years of terror. Those that had attempted to save their souls had died doing so. And he was now a part of the pivotal axis on which the entire terrifying story swung. Dorothy rested a hand on his shoulder as Roger Smith, for the first time that anyone could remember, openly wept. Through tear streaked eyes, one last passage caught his attention: "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?" Roger murmured into his hands, "Cast in the name of God: Ye Not Guilty" then leaned against Dorothy's stalwart form, suddenly feeling very tired. Perhaps all the answers did lie in a name. 

------------- 

Roger stood on the balcony, watching the city below him. Dorothy perched on the railing staring at the ominous sky. "What will you do now that you have had a revelation, Roger?" "The only thing I can do," he said managing a faint smile. "Wait until the time is right to act, I suppose. After all, the answer's all in a name." Dorothy regarded what he said for a moment and leaned precariously back before vaulting down beside him. "A name holds many answers. Do you know what your name means, Roger?" "Hmm?" "In an ancient language it means 'he who carries the spear of fame.' Your name even binds you to your task." 'But of all the Rogers in the world, why did I have to carry the spear?' he thought quietly to himself. "What does your name mean, Dorothy?" "It has no relevance to the task at hand but it means 'Gift from God'." Roger allowed himself to chuckle a little. "Perhaps it suits you. And where did the gift from God come by this knowledge?" Unamused at his vague attempt at humor she replied, "Downstairs. You have an expansive library at your fingertips yet you ask others for answers before you search for yourself." She had once again picked out a flaw. Some things never changed. Without saying a word, he turned and walked to his study, scanning the shelves for any books on archaic languages. He was intrigued by what Dorothy had told him, and he wondered if perhaps his last question would be answered there. How did the Megadeus fit into any of this? At last finding a book that proved promising, he removed it from the shelf and found it was a dictionary for a long dead language. Ironically, he had opened the dusty and mold worn pages to the letter M. Mega: great. Great? He turned quickly and he felt his pulse quicken…Deus: God. Megadeus...Great God. 

-- NO SIDE? -- 

------------- 

Authors Notes: (updated to answer questions in reviews)   
I wanted to write a few notes on this story because I'm sure it's going to butt heads with controversy at some point. So here's the breakdown: 

What sources were used? (I know I haven't written these citations correctly)   
Big O. Original Series Creator, Hajime Yatate. Produced by Sunrise Inc. 2000.   
The King James Bible. Publisher (in my edition) unknown. Copyright 1920.   
The Bible as Literature: An Introduction. By: Gabel, Wheeler, and York. Oxford UP, 1999.   
The title for Chapter 3 is from the song "Mondo Apocalypso" by the Millennium Fake Brothers, from the soundtrack to the game Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy.   
Special thanks to Serena for reading this story prior to release and providing encouragement for my writing. 

Where did this idea come from?   
Well, Big O obviously has some religious contexts in it. Cast in the name of God is the obvious one. There's only a vaguely veiled attempt to hide the fact that Heaven's Day is really Christmas, and in the original cut, Rosewater gave a speech explaining that Heaven's Day celebrated the birth of the son of God. There were also several apocalyptic references in episode 13, R*D. I cross referenced some of these in the book I mentioned above "The Bible as Literature" which has some very informative texts on apocalypse motifs including fire, death of innocents, and marking of the masses. 

Why didn't you include all of Revelation?   
Because Revelation is a reasonably lengthy book, and there are bits that really aren't relevant to what I was writing. I took snippets from the sections in which I actually had noticed the running motifs, mostly in Chapter 13. After reading the entire book, I selected the bits that proved to be prudent to the actions in the last actual episode of Big O and those that have appeared in the rest of the series. Had I chose to do a line by line analysis of the parallels between Revelation and Big O I would have more of a lengthy paper which would quickly lose the interest of readers, and this was not a research project but rather an attempt to entertain. 

What about the spelling of Megadeus?   
Well, I've seen it spelled both Megadeus and Megadeuce. The spelling I took was from the Animejump page for Big O, since they tend to be one of the more definitive anime sites. Granted, spelling it differently does change the meaning, as pointed out in the reviews of the story, I settled on a spelling and stuck with it. 

Are you trying to push Christianity on us?   
No. I just noticed a remarkable number of Biblical references in the show and decided to pick it apart. I'm an English major, that's what we do. And just for the record, I'm a practicing Pagan. So no, I'm not pushing religious ideals on anyone. 

Will there be more of the story?   
Perhaps, time permitting.   



End file.
